ITC 518 Assistive Technologies Toolkit

Eduify

Content Area: Language Arts, or any other subject requiring composition. Grades: Middle Level, Secondary education Description: This tool helps students compose essays and papers by suggesting words, providing examples of topic statements, transitional phrases, etc. This app provides models and tutorials for all types of writing, it also helps students cite sources and keep track of sources. In the classroom: I would use this tool for students who were struggling to write. They could login when we have time to work on writing projects in class and use the tutorials and models to assist their composition. Additionally, I think I would encourage all students to use this tool when we work on research papers until they get the hang of things.

Starfall

Content Area: Reading, Language Arts Grades: Primary, or students with primary-level reading ability Description: Starfall is a tool that assists students in developing reading skills with phonics games. It includes videos that teach children many basic sentences and words, going through topics such as learning to describe yourself, basic body parts (head, shoulders, knees and toes, etc.), and other easy topics that help kids learn to read. In the classroom: I think this tool could be used as a reward for students who can already read to reinforce concepts, and for other students, it can be used as a tool to assist in the development of their reading skills. It would also be a good tool to recommend to parents to allow their children to use and practice with at home on the computer.

Quizlet

Content Area: Any Grades: Middle Level, Secondary Description: This is a study aid tool. Quizlet allows students to create flashcards or use sets already created by others. You can take tests, practice new information, and share your flashcards with friends or classmates. Teachers can create a set of flashcards for the class to practice with. In the classroom: Students could create flashcards for the class as an assignment or project. For students learning a second language, I think this tool would useful for practicing new words with associated pictures. I could also create a quiz or set of study aids for a particular concept that my classes were struggling with.

Dragon Anywhere

Word Lens

Content Area: ESL, Foreign Languages Grade Levels: Secondary, or students with ELL difficulty Description: Point your device at words in any language and have them automatically translated. Your device will have to have a video camera. The app also allows you to look up translations by entering them into the device as well. One hitch is that you have to purchase specific language packs. In the Classroom: In a foreign languages class, this app would be helpful for translating English into whatever the language of study is. Additionally, it could go the other way. If students take a trip to the country of origin for their language, as is popular in some schools, they would be able to use this app to read signs they might not recognize. For ELL students and families, this app would be useful for assisting the student in reading text. I also could see this being a useful tool for the student's family, who may not be proficient in English either. They could use the app to translate notes from the teacher, paperwork that goes home, etc.

CorkboardMe

Content Area: Any Grade Levels: All Description: This tool provides you with a virtual corkboard, to which you can add notes, diagrams, pictures, etc. You get a unique link to your own corkboard, which can be shared with friends, family, coworkers, etc., or in an educational setting, parents. In the Classroom: I think this tool would be great to use on a class webpage to easily update with reminders, news, or homework assignments. Parents can visit the webpage and see everything right there, and it seems like an easy and quick way to update the page with simple, small notes, rather than going into the webpage and editing the entire thing. Another way this could be used is with IEP students. Each student could have their own corkboard where the teacher can post notes of what they did well, and what still needs work. Parents could check it and see how their student is doing with behavior, participation, etc.

Auditory Workout

iConverse

Content Area: Any Grades: All (any student who still struggles with vocalizing) Description: This app allows students to touch different commands, and the app will speak them and represent them visually for the student. The app also allows for teachers and parents to create their own commands for the student to use by recording your own voice and adding your own pictures. In the Classroom: Teachers could work with the student to verbalize the things they point to with the app by encouraging them to repeat what they hear. The ability to record one's own voice commands might also be an enticing reward for the autistic student who is on the edge of becoming ready to speak on their own.

howjsay

Content Area: ESL, Language Arts Grades: Any (students who are not fluent in English) Description: This app provides proper pronunciation guides for over 150,000 English words. It will say them out loud and allows the user to search for words too, and has an autocomplete feature for commonly misspelled words. Users can also create lists of words and store them in the app. It has both a website and apps for iOS devices. In the Classroom: I would give this app to a student while they were reading independently so they could search for unfamiliar words and have them read aloud. I would then direct students to a dictionary app to get the definition. Another way to use it would be to have students keep a list of words that they consistently struggle with so that they were on hand when needed.